Arsenal predicted lineup vs Aston Villa - Premier League | OneFootball

Arsenal are aiming to close the gap on Premier League leaders Liverpool this Saturday when they face Aston Villa at the Emirates Stadium.

The Gunners will need a favour from Brentford earlier in the day if they are to edge closer to Liverpool in the table, providing they can avoid slipping up against the Villans, of course. Arsenal have distressing memories of this exact fixture last season as Unai Emery's Villa delivered a fatal blow to them in the title race.

Arsenal can build on the confidence of Wednesday's victory in the north London derby against Tottenham Hotspur, even if they were far from their best as they secured bragging rights. Injuries continue to make Mikel Arteta's life more challenging and he will need to get his team selection bang on for the arrival of seventh-placed Villa.

Here is how Arsenal could line up this weekend.

Arsenal predicted lineup vs Aston Villa (4-3-3)

Gabriel Martinelli should return to the XI / Gaspafotos/MB Media/GettyImages

GK: David Raya - The Spaniard wasn't overly busy in the north London derby but did produce one impressive reflex save to deny Dejan Kulusevski. He could well be called into action more frequently on Saturday.

RB: Jurrien Timber - Timber is Arsenal's only senior right-back option and has been forced to play an awful lot of football over the past month. He has, however, performed admirably despite a significant workload.

CB: William Saliba - The Real Madrid target will be tasked with containing Ollie Watkins on Saturday, who now has two goals and two assists in his last four outings. Jhon Duran will prove a similar handful off the bench.

CB: Gabriel - Gabriel produced a monumental performance against Tottenham and Arsenal need their Brazilian superstar more than ever considering their attacking difficulties in recent weeks.

LB: Myles Lewis-Skelly - Lewis-Skelly has gained invaluable experience this term and offered a stellar performance against Tottenham. Having performed expertly against Spurs' tricky front line, he will be tested by the likes of Morgan Rogers and Leon Bailey this weekend.

CM: Martin Odegaard - Odegaard was much improved on Wednesday and helped Arsenal to victory, with the graceful Norwegian producing a characteristically inventive and measured display in the midfield.

CM: Thomas Partey - He will need to offer Arsenal's defensive line significant support against Villa, who are so often lethal on the counter-attack. Mikel Merino is sniffing around his starting spot.

CM: Declan Rice - Rice has not been able to replicate his exquisite debut season performances for much of the campaign but put in an assured shift against Spurs. Villa's engine room is stacked with impressive options, including one-time Arsenal target Amadou Onana, and Rice will need to dominate the midfield battle.

RW: Leandro Trossard - Scored the winner against Spurs on Wednesday with a fierce strike, albeit Antonin Kinsky should have rebuffed it. A confidence-boosting performance for the Belgian, who needs to step up amid attacking injuries.

ST: Kai Havertz - Havertz has come under fire in recent weeks due to his profligacy and he can have few complaints following some woeful misses. However, he's guaranteed a starting berth with Gabriel Jesus sidelined and always works relentlessly off the ball.

LW: Gabriel Martinelli - Surprisingly omitted from the lineup on Wednesday but Raheem Sterling's disappointing performance in the derby will only ensure Martinelli's return. He should give Matty Cash a difficult afternoon.